Apparatus for deflashing molded articles

ABSTRACT

An improved deflashing apparatus comprises a container for the articles to be deflashed, a cooling system for said articles, and an agitating device within said container for imparting a movement to said articles with a direct mechanical action thereon and consequent removal of the flash which has become brittle owing to the cooling. In the most preferred embodiment the agitating device comprises a pair of rotating brushes and the inside of the container has an essentially bi-lobed shape.

mite States Patent 1 Coscia [4 1 oct.23,1973

1 APPARATUS FOR DEFLASHING MOLDED ARTICLES [75] Inventor: Giovanni A.Coscia, Milnate, Italy [73] Assignee: Societe Generale Conseil So. Ge.

Co., Zurich, Switzerland [22] Filed: Nov. 10, 1971 [21] Appl. No.:197,353

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 12, 1970 Italy 31626 A/70[52] US. Cl 225/97, 51/164, 225/93, 225/93.5, 425/806 [51] Int. Cl 1326f3/00 [58] Field of Search 264/161; 51/163,

51/164, 322; 241/190, 191, 66, 65, 23, 26, 172,174; 15/3,16, 21 D, 21 R,21 A, 398; 425/806; 225/97, 93.5, 93

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,682,732 7/1954 Hanrahan etal. 51/164 3,333,367 8/1967 Salvaire 51/164 2,342,443 2/1944 Wood425/806 2,380,653 7/1945 Kopplin.... 241/26 UX 2,476,540 7/1949 Fraser241/26 UX 2,881,571 4/1959 Granata 51/164 3,134,413 5/1964 Dorsa et a1..51/163 X 3,528,201 9/1970 Jones et a1. 51/164 3,640,029 2/1972 Zildjian51/322 3,664,592 5/1972 Schweigert et al. 241/190 X PrimaryExaminer-Frank T. Yost Attorney-Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow & Garrett[57] ABSTRACT An improved deflashing apparatus comprises a container forthe articles to be deflashed, a cooling system for said articles, and anagitating device within said container for imparting a movement to saidarticles with a direct mechanical action thereon and consequent removalof the flash which has become brittle owing to the cooling. In the mostpreferred embodiment the agitating device comprises a pair of rotatingbrushes and the inside of the container has an essentially bi-lobedshape.

3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEUncI23 ma 3.761.096

SHEET 1 or 2 "I r P i I i H k m PAIENTEDnm 23 Ian SHEET 2 or 2 APPARATUSFOR DEFLASI-IING MOLDED ARTICLES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to an apparatus for deflashing rubber and likearticles, more particularly molded articles.

It is known that in the molded rubber and like articles it is necessaryfor the flash to be removed in order to obtain articles free from anyimperfections. A number of apparatus useful for this purposes arealready known. The known apparatus are essentially of two types: namelyrotating drum apparatus and vibrating container apparatus. In both typeof apparatus the articles are chilled so that the flashes, stiffened bythe low temperature, become brittle and are easily broken off.

In the deflashing apparatus of the first type, the arti cles to bedeflashed are put into a rotatable cylindershaped or prismaticcontainer, which is chilled so that the articles contained therein arechilled as well and, by bumping against each other, cause the flashes tobreak off. The flash is then discharged in known manner out of thecontainer.

In the deflashing apparatus of the second type, the articles to bedeflashed are put into a vibrating container and, as a result of thevibrations, the articles interact thus causing the flash to break off.In both type of machines, the cooling system may be different. Saidcooling may occur e.g. by introducing solid carbon dioxide or aliquefied gas into the container or also by cooling the containerexternally with the aid of any means known in the cooling technique.

The known deflashing apparatus show several drawbacks. In the abovementioned apparatus of the first type, the most common drawbacks consistin the breaking or partial splintering of the articles being processedand in the possibility that before breaking off, the flash bends andpermanently adheres onto the outer surface of the articles to bedeflashed. In the abovementioned apparatus of the second. type, one ofthe drawbacks which are most often remarked consists in that themechanical action obtained by vibration is insufficient to remove thethicker flashes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly it is the main object of thisinvention to provide an apparatus substantially free from one or more ofthe disadvantages of prior deflashing apparatus.

Another object of this invention is to provide a deflashing apparatuswhich permits high working speed with consequential reduction in costsand labor.

These objects are attained according to this invention with a deflashingapparatus comprising a container for the articles" to be deflashed and acooling system for said articles, inside said container there beingplaced an agitating device which is adapted to impart a movement to saidarticles exerting upon them a direct mechanical action with consequentremoval of the flash which has become brittle owing to the cooling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other features of theinvention will be evident to those skilled in the art from the followingdetailed description of an embodiment thereof, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view of a deflashing apparatusaccording to this invention; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the same apparatus takenalong the line A-A of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to FIG.1, it can be seen that the deflashing apparatus according to thisinvention essentially comprises a fixed container 1 housing an agitatingdevice 2 which in this specific case is represented by a pair ofrotating brushes, said device being moved by motor 3. The container l,which is obviously provided with one or more openings for charging anddischarging the articles being processed, presents other means necessaryfor cooling the container and the articles contained therein. Thecontainer 1 is supported by an adequate base 4. Said base may be usedalso as a support for the flash collecting containers, for the coolingdevice, etc.

With reference to FIG. 2, there can be seen the preferred internal shapeof the container 1. The inside of said container, which is designed tocontain the articles to be processed and in which the agitating deviceis housed, has an essentially bi-lobed shape defined by the opposedprojections 5 and 5.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention the agitating deviceconsists of a pair of brushes 2 and 2' rotating preferably in the senseindicated by the arrows X and Y. The movement is imparted to the brushesin a known manner by a suitable motor. As illustrated with phantom linesin FIG. 2, for each brush there is preferably provided a separate motorwhich thus consents to adjust independently the sense and rotation rateof each brush.

The function of projection 5 is that of increasing the contact surfacebetween the periphery of the pair of brushes and the inside of thecontainer 1. The function of projection 5 is prevailingly that ofexerting a hindering action for the articles being processed which,under the effect of brushes 2 and 2, are projected upwards. Saidarticles, which bump against the surface of projection 5', besidesundergoing a mechanical action with the consequent removal of theflashes, are brought downwards again between the bristles of therotating brushes 2 and 2'. 4

As can be easily seen from the figures, the rotating brushes 2 and 2',besides having the specific action of moving the articles beingprocessed, exert through their bristles a direct mechanical action ontothe surface of the articles so as to provide a complete removal of thechilled flash.

In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, the container l is cooledby an expansion cooling system. FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of coil 6through which the fluid of the cooling system circulates, while 6' inFIG. 1 indicates the inlet of the cooling fluid.

The container 1 may however be cooled by other cooling methods known inthe art. It is possible therefore to feed into container 1 a liquefiedgas, e.g. nitrogen, or solid carbon dioxide.

The rotating brushes 2 and 2' are provided with brist'les having acertain stiffness and are preferably made out of a material which doesnot become brittle at low temperatures, e.g. an adequate material may bea polyamide monofilament. Also brushes with metal monofilaments may bequite suitable for this purpose.

The bristles may be arranged on the outer surface of the central core ofthe brushes either in parallel lines or in sinusoidal or helicoidallines. The helicoidal arrangement is particularly advisable in order tofacilitate the transversal movement of the articles during thedeflashing operation. The central core of the brushes is eithercylinder-shaped or prismatic, but may have any other suitable shape.

As for the feeding of the articles to be deflashed into the container 1,the latter is provided with a specific port (not shown in the figures),located preferably on the upper part of the container 1. The container 1is provided also with a discharge port arranged preferably on its lowerpart. A different arrangement of the openings for charging anddischarging the articles is always possible provided that thearrangement and, if necessary, the movement of the rotating brushes ismodified accordingly.

Additional modifications and/or additions may be included by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope of this invention asdefined by the appended claims, the above embodiment of the inventionbeing described and illustrated only by way of nonlimitating example.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for deflashing molded articles comprising a containerfor the articles to be deflashed, a system for cooling said containerand the articles contained therein, and an agitating device locatedwithin said container and comprising two rotating brushes adapted toimpart a movement to said articles, said brushes exerting upon thearticles a direct mechanical action with consequent removal of the flashwhich has become brittle owing to the cooling.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inside of thecontainer is bi-lobed and each lobe contains in the lower part one ofthe two rotating brushes.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each brush consists of acentral core bearing on its outer part stiff bristles having such alength that their ends enter into contact both with the internal surfaceof the container and with the ends of the bristles of the other brush.

1. An apparatus for deflashing molded articles comprising a containerfor the articles to be deflashed, a system for cooling said containerand the articles contained therein, and an agitating device locatedwithin said container and comprising two rotating brushes adapted toimpart a movement to said articles, said brushes exerting upon thearticles a direct mechanical action with consequent removal of the flashwhich has become brittle owing to the cooling.
 2. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the inside of the container is bi-lobedand each lobe contains in the lower part one of the two rotatingbrushes.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each brushconsists of a central core bearing on its outer part stiff bristleshaving such a length that their ends enter into contact both with theinternal surface of the container and with the ends of the bristles ofthe other brush.